Hate is such a strong word, and to be honest, it’s not that this list of sayings is something that really keeps me up at night. These words and sayings just really irk me for some reason. Several of these sayings seem to have been born from the Internet era, often being found in tweets, Facebook updates, and forum postings. Others are sayings I’ve heard throughout the years. Either way, I’d love to see them put to rest!
“This band is killing it.”
Having been a member of many a band, it’s nice to know that people are into what you are doing it, but this saying turns what could have been an otherwise nice compliment about a musician’s skills, performance, and/or songwriting prowess into a fraternity brother’s simplistic assessment of the situation. If you really like the way a band is sounding and you are at their live show, cheer, clap, and buy their records and t-shirts. If you feel the need to make your friends jealous by bragging about it on Twitter, try something more erudite such as “This band puts on an amazing live show. You should be here next time.”
“Just sayin’.”
This one has annoyed me perhaps more than any other, and it’s been a trend that spans just about every online social outlet. All I really need to do here is quote a recent Bill Maher ‘New Rule’:
New Rule: If you end your tweet with the words “Just sayin’,” then you’ve just tweeted something incredibly shitty.
No one ever tweets, “Had a nice lunch with my sister. Just sayin’.” It’s always, “Mexicans are what’s wrong with this country. Just sayin’.” How about this? You drop the “just sayin’” and we’ll go ahead and assume that’s what you were just saying based on the fact that you just said it.
“Wow. Just. Wow.”
This saying is used in an attempt at expressing one’s disbelief at something they just saw or read. Often found in the comments of Facebook posts, it has become the de-facto statement when someone is thinking, “Gee, that is really awful/terrible/horrific and I feel very strongly about it, but I don’t really feel like typing any of that so I’ll just leave this cliche here as an attempt to let you know that I do care.”
“Welcome to my world.”
People say this when you’ve expressed a frustration at something they tend to deal with a lot. It is a great way of diverting the topic of conversation away from the person who just expressed an honest emotion about a situation, and toward the person who likes being the center of attention.
“Son!”
Pronounced “suuuuuun,” this is a uniquely Southern saying which has transgressed beyond gender boundaries and is commonly heard in bluegrass picking circles. It’s the southern version of “Awesome, dude.” It can also be applicated as a salutation or any attempt at affirmation. It is a simplistic way to exonerate a thoughtful expression of approval. Who has time to say, “You just did an amazing job at singing that song,” when you can just get away with, “soooooon!”
Needless to say, this term has nothing to do with actual mother/son or father/son relationships.
“Think outside the box.”
Originating from the “9 dot” puzzle, this saying has been so overused that it has become its own box.
“That’s above my pay grade.”
That’s a cop out if I ever heard one. Do it anyway.
“Cosplay.”
This is an attempt to redescribe something which is completely juvenile in nature as something that is OK for adults to do. It pretty much fails in that it still means ‘grown people trying to squeeze into superhero costumes.’ I will say that I’d be the first person in line to own an authentic stormtrooper costume, but I will also be the first person to acknowledge the childhood fantasy being played rather than trying to cloak it in some sort of sophisticated homage to a canon of literature.
“I know enough to be dangerous.”
Do you? Then by all means, put down the keyboard.
For those of you keeping score at home, these are the things that have been happening around here.
